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Nicoludis, John M.

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Nicoludis

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John M.

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Nicoludis, John M.
Author's Publications: search.filters.isAuthorOfPublication.26d2219a-e386-4fde-b880-6f24e7cff6dc

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    Investigation of the interactions between Pt(II) and Pd(II) derivatives of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis (N-methyl-4-pyridyl) porphyrin and G-quadruplex DNA
    (Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2016) Sabharwal, Navin C.; Mendoza, Oscar; Nicoludis, John M.; Ruan, Thomas; Mergny, Jean-Louis; Yatsunyk, Liliya A.
    Abstract G-quadruplexes are non-canonical DNA structures formed by guanine-rich DNA sequences that are implicated in cancer and aging. Understanding how small molecule ligands interact with quadruplexes is essential both to the development of novel anticancer therapeutics and to the design of new quadruplex-selective probes needed for elucidation of quadruplex biological functions. In this work, UV–visible, fluorescence, and circular dichroism spectroscopies, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) melting assays, and resonance light scattering were used to investigate how the Pt(II) and Pd(II) derivatives of the well-studied 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)porphyrin (TMPyP4) interact with quadruplexes formed by the human telomeric DNA, Tel22, and by the G-rich sequences from oncogene promoters. Our results suggest that Pt- and PdTMPyP4 interact with Tel22 via efficient π–π stacking with a binding affinity of 106–107 M−1. Under porphyrin excess, PtTMPyP4 aggregates using Tel22 as a template; the aggregates reach maximum size at [PtTMPyP4]/[Tel22] ~8 and dissolve at [PtTMPyP4]/[Tel22] ≤ 2. FRET assays reveal that both porphyrins are excellent stabilizers of human telomeric DNA, with stabilization temperature of 30.7 ± 0.6 °C for PtTMPyP4 and 30.9 ± 0.4 °C for PdTMPyP4 at [PtTMPyP4]/[Tel22] = 2 in K+ buffer, values significantly higher as compared to those for TMPyP4. The porphyrins display modest selectivity for quadruplex vs. duplex DNA, with selectivity ratios of 150 and 330 for Pt- and PdTMPyP4, respectively. This selectivity was confirmed by observed ‘light switch’ effect: fluorescence of PtTMPyP4 increases significantly in the presence of a variety of DNA secondary structures, yet the strongest effect is produced by quadruplex DNA. Graphical abstract Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00775-015-1325-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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    Antiparallel protocadherin homodimers use distinct affinity- and specificity-mediating regions in cadherin repeats 1-4
    (eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd, 2016) Nicoludis, John M.; Vogt, Bennett; Green, Anna; Schärfe, Charlotta PI; Marks, Debora; Gaudet, Rachelle
    Protocadherins (Pcdhs) are cell adhesion and signaling proteins used by neurons to develop and maintain neuronal networks, relying on trans homophilic interactions between their extracellular cadherin (EC) repeat domains. We present the structure of the antiparallel EC1-4 homodimer of human PcdhγB3, a member of the γ subfamily of clustered Pcdhs. Structure and sequence comparisons of α, β, and γ clustered Pcdh isoforms illustrate that subfamilies encode specificity in distinct ways through diversification of loop region structure and composition in EC2 and EC3, which contains isoform-specific conservation of primarily polar residues. In contrast, the EC1/EC4 interface comprises hydrophobic interactions that provide non-selective dimerization affinity. Using sequence coevolution analysis, we found evidence for a similar antiparallel EC1-4 interaction in non-clustered Pcdh families. We thus deduce that the EC1-4 antiparallel homodimer is a general interaction strategy that evolved before the divergence of these distinct protocadherin families. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.18449.001
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    Publication
    Structure and Sequence Analyses of Clustered Protocadherins Reveal Antiparallel Interactions that Mediate Homophilic Specificity
    (Elsevier BV, 2015) Nicoludis, John M.; Lau, Sze-Yi; Scharfe, Charlotta; Marks, Debora; Weihofen, Wilhelm Andreas; Gaudet, Rachelle
    Clustered protocadherin (Pcdh) proteins mediate dendritic self-avoidance in neurons via specific homophilic interactions in their extracellular cadherin (EC) domains. We determined crystal structures of EC1–EC3, containing the homophilic specificity-determining region, of two mouse clustered Pcdh isoforms (PcdhγA1 and PcdhγC3) to investigate the nature of the homophilic interaction. Within the crystal lattices, we observe antiparallel interfaces consistent with a role in trans cell-cell contact. Antiparallel dimerization is supported by evolutionary correlations. Two interfaces, located primarily on EC2-EC3, involve distinctive clustered Pcdh structure and sequence motifs, lack predicted glycosylation sites, and contain residues highly conserved in orthologs but not paralogs, pointing toward their biological significance as homophilic interaction interfaces. These two interfaces are similar yet distinct, reflecting a possible difference in interaction architecture between clustered Pcdh subfamilies. These structures initiate a molecular understanding of clustered Pcdh assemblies that are required to produce functional neuronal networks.